The Spore Queen

By: Debra Castaneda

Narrated by: Nancy Bober

Forest. Fungi. Family secrets.

Reporter Maria Hart ventures into the depths of Nils Forest chasing a news story about a violent storm, but she never returns. Within months, four other people will also disappear in the woods.

Tech mogul David Eager lives at the forest's edge. He is haunted by Maria's disappearance, and something more. Fungus is common in the foggy woodland, but now its behaving in unnatural ways, creeping onto his property and into his dreams.

Maria's friend, Amy Matthews, hears strange rumors about Nils Forest and, motivated by a dark secret, decides to investigate for herself. It's no easy task. The terrain is notoriously rugged. But Amy is cunning and determined to find her former roommate, dead or alive.

Amy's not alone. Marias mother, desperate for answers about her daughter, joins the search. Together, they journey into the heart of Nils Forest where they make a chilling discovery—there's a new fungus in these woods, and it has transformative powers. As they push deeper into the trees, they uncover a terrifying, mind-bending force. Her name is The Spore Queen.

©2024 Debra Castaneda (P)2024 Debra Castaneda

Great book and Narration!

I'm slowly making my way through the Dark Earth Rising series. This one is my favorite so far! it's a fantastic fungus horror. I'm hoping for a sequel!

Made My Skin Crawl

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator reminded me of a young Betty White. I love the way Debra Castaneda creates characters with their own story lines, and eventually brings her characters together. Fungi already freaks me out a little bit, so this was a good creepy read for me. Even though it made me skin crawl (in a good way), The Spore Queen is a beautifully written story.

Interesting but not as deadly as expected

I was expecting a little more creep factor after giving one of the others in this series a try and loving that one. This book was worth it but didn’t hold as much of a punch as the other did. Performance was fantastic though.

Oh MYcelium Such a FUNgi Read!

After reading The Root Witch I jumped right into The Spore Queen. Goblincore aesthetic with a twist of Aztec magic. How unique! You can literally smell this story! The ending made my skin crawl! Don’t read it alone in your mushROOM! 🍄

Interesting spin on mycology and Mexican ancestry

What now? I need to know MORE! Excellent narration and very interesting story that had me hooked and invested but left me needing a book 2!!! Give it a listen and submerge yourself in the world of mushrooms.

Original and exciting!

The Spore Queen by Debra Castaneda
🍄🍄‍🟫🍄🍄‍🟫🍄
I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting and entertaining this book is! The story is very original and unique, and it drew me in right away from the strangeness.
It’s a very different type of horror story, with just the right amount of creepiness. It has more of a fantasy, folktale story feel. It’s amazing what these mushrooms/fungi organisms can do! Beautiful forms of nature can help heal humans!

The book is very well written and I enjoyed my first story from this author. The narrator did a very good job with the story also.

I can’t wait to check out more books from Debra Castaneda!

The Spore Queen

There is definitely something creepy about mushrooms and other fungi to me. I was drawn to this book because I had read several others by this author and the idea of the fungal aspect made me want to read it.

It was an enjoyable read, but not really horror (IMO). There were some creepy moments, but I think they could have been expanded upon to make it more horrific. I also would have liked more of the folklore behind the Spore Queen. All in all, I enjoyed the concept, but felt like it could have been so much better.

The narrator did a good job and moved the story along at a quick pace. I will definitely be reading more by this author since she has a beautiful writing style and I enjoy her character development. This just wasn't my favorite of her books.

So cool!!

Such an amazing story! Great narration! I loved everything about it! Those kinda creepy vibes stay with you and you just want to keep listening!

and then????

and then???????? was all I thought as my audiobook ended. great pace, easy writing, interesting story that left me wanting more.

Sizzles out

Definitely not what I would call a horror and I came across this on a horror page, a mystery yes. I was pretty interested at first then just kinda sizzled out for me.